Positive Luxury Meets… Wildfitness

As a sign of Wildfitness’ inspired commitment to engage people with the beauty and benefits of a natural habitat, the brand has been awarded the Butterfly Mark, powered by Positive Luxury. The award of the Butterfly Mark recognises Wildfitness’ unique provision of holistic wellbeing for their audience, with sustainability at the heart of every step.

Eric Walters, Director of Wildfitness, took a moment to reinforce the importance of being a brand to trust.

Wildfitness was started in 2001 when Tara Wood noticed that her friends, while at her family home on the Kenyan coast, would feel more refreshed and energised simply by moving and playing in nature. Upon investigation, she discovered that there was a nascent but growing body of research that showed that simply being in nature was good for people, made them happier, less stressed and more productive.

I became involved with Wildfitness last year having spoken to many people – clients, past employees, head coaches and chefs – all of whom had been touched by the Wildfitness approach to living, moving and eating. The resounding impression was one of passion and belief that no fad or fashion could possibly sustain. People interested in exploring nature and learning more about themselves, as a result, were a conscientious bunch.

This is evidenced by our approach to food: adapting our basic principles to ensure that local flavours, and local sourcing, are paramount to what we serve our clients. Our movement approach is keen to avoid gyms in favour of being outdoors, doesn’t require expensive ‘technical’ equipment in favour of utilising our surroundings whether that is using a rock instead of a kettle bell or climbing a tree instead of using weights machines.

Sustainability and mindfulness, two seemingly disparate concepts are, I believe, surprisingly linked. We have started organising tasting sessions in Alladale, Scotland in which guests are blindfolded and asked to taste various ingredients. This brings them to the present very effectively and helps them to think in more depth about what they are eating, where it has come from and the health of the ecosystem in which it was grown. We pause during a trek in Milia, Crete to meditate over the noises of nature. This brings us to thinking about how humans have impacted nature and what measures are in place to preserve this beauty.

Sustainability has a long way to go from being either implied or used as a ‘greenwashing’ marketing tool. Having said that, the evolving conversation and the growing community of brands with social and environmental impetus shows that this is becoming a key part of a business’ legacy and survival. Wildfitness’ approach is to make small changes to raise people’s awareness by simply giving them time to stop, rest and reflect.